In the academic world, you will often hear reference to "Peer Reviewed Journals" or "Academic Journals" or just "Journals" as the type of research you should be citing in your own papers. Articles that are published in these types of sources are generally considered to be more "authoritative" than articles that appear in newspapers or magazines, for a few reasons:
Newspapers and magazines are often less strict in their reviewing processes and how they cite sources, which is why they are considered less authoritative. But: They also have their place in Pacific Islands research. This is because in many cases, a newspaper or magazine article may be the first time information on a specific topic is published. Academic journals often only publish once or twice per year, and the peer review process can itself take months ... so it can take up to two years for an academic journal article to make it through the publication process, whereas a newspaper or magazine article can be published in a matter of days, weeks or months. So if you're looking at a really recent topic (for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has impacted the Pacific Islands), you will be more likely to find information in the "popular press" than in academic journals.
This video has tips on how to use the sources below to find online journal articles: VIDEO 4: Finding Journal Articles
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